


tomorrow, you'll know

by orphan_account



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, F/M, Fem!Hinata, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Hinata Shouyou & Yachi Hitoka Friendship, Hinata Shouyou is a Dork, Slow Burn, Team as Family, Tsundere Kageyama Tobio, bc they're both oblivious little shits and i cry, bc they're hq's shorty squad, in kags and hina's case, kiyoko is a good senpai, rehashing of s1 and s2, rivals to friends to lovers, they're both dorks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-28
Updated: 2016-07-26
Packaged: 2018-06-04 22:45:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6678364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hinata Shouyou only wanted to play for the volleyball team that her hero, the Little Giant, used to be on. And so what if Karasuno's former #10 was a boy? </p><p>It would be <em>so</em> easy for her to pretend to be a guy—after all, her best friends from junior high were boys. She'd <em>definitely</em> be able to pull off pretending to be one for three years, no sweat. </p><p> </p><p>  <em>(or . . . maybe <em>do</em> sweat? boys did that a lot, right?)</em></p><p> </p><p>And it would've been smooth sailing from the first running step she took inside the gym . . . at least, until the former first setter of Kitagawa Daiichi threatened to get too close and ruin everything she had sacrificed in order to achieve her dreams.</p><p>
  <strong>DISCONTINUED—SORRY GUYS!</strong>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Donning the Black Wings

Shouyou gazed intently at the uniform in the closet, hand hesitantly outstretched toward the hanger. The clothing was innocuous-looking, really—just the male’s standard black slacks, a white button-up shirt, and a black blazer.

However, _that_ was exactly the problem because Hinata Shouyou was a girl . . . who was incidentally pretending to be a boy, starting today.

At Karasuno, females were required to wear the uniform skirt and blouse, but if she was attempting to pose as a male at her new high school . . . she would need to wear the clothes currently hanging in her closet.

Her hand began to shake and she pulled it close to her chest.

Oh, goodness, was what she was trying to do even _legal_?

At first, after graduating from junior high, Shouyou had felt some sort of strange thrill to be violating such a large rule. She had filled out the high school application form herself, and—after a moment’s hesitation—had written the kanji for _male_ instead of _female_ and sent it off in the post. She was grateful that that none of her classmates from Yukigaoka were going to Karasuno, or else this whole plan would have failed spectacularly. It seemed like some sort of shoujo manga moment—the female protagonist successfully fooling everyone around her in order to achieve her dream and prove that she was the strongest of them all.

. . . But in the preceding week of today, Shouyou realized that the characters of those mangas were _always_ caught. Because pretending to hide your true self was much harder than it seemed. Anything that could go wrong  _would_ go wrong.

As her mind wandered back to the present, her stomach began to roll unpleasantly when she pulled the stiff black pants off the hanger. Was pretending to be a boy so that she could play on the same volleyball team that the Little Giant did really worth it? And . . . did she really want revenge on  _him_ that badly?

Through her closed door, Shouyou could hear her mother bustling about downstairs in the kitchen as she made breakfast. It was a rare day off for the woman, Shouyou knew guiltily, just so that she could see her two daughters off for their first day of high school and elementary school, respectively.

Buttoning her shirt, Shouyou began to doubt herself further. No one would believe that such a small person like herself was even a boy, and her reputation would be ruined immediately, and she might even get kicked out before she got a chance to sign her name on the club application sheet!

Shouyou knew that she was overthinking, but that was one of her greatest fears for lying about her gender. If she was expelled from Karasuno for pretending to be a boy, then that would be her mother’s hard-earned money wasted. Her mother was often out working late into the night at the office, scrounging up enough money to send both her daughters to good schools, because who else would?

Certainly not her father, who had—

A soft knock on her door made her jump. “Nee-chan?” a small voice called. “Is you dead?”

Shouyou's worries slipped away as she laughed softly at the innocent-sounding question, and she smiled as she slipped her arms through the black blazer. She checked herself in the mirror critically, looking for any flaws in her disguise before turning away from the strangely _different-_ looking person staring back at her. 

“Coming, Nacchan!” Shouyou said back as she opened the door to face her little sister. “See, I’m fine!” she said brightly, picking the laughing girl up into her arms.

The nausea in her stomach had faded somewhat as Natsu affectionately buried her head into Shouyou’s neck, but she was still feeling anxious. “Ne, Nacchan,” she whispered before they went downstairs, “do I look like your nii-chan today?”

Natsu blinked solemnly up at her with bright brown eyes before breaking into a sunny smile. “I think so!”

Shouyou trusted her little sister to keep her secret, because she was really the only person that she could confide in. Kouji and Izumin were her best friends in junior high, but even _they_ would think that she went too far just to play volleyball. The two boys were going to the same high school to play their respective sports and had begged Shouyou to join them ("Shou-chan, they actually have a really good volleyball team! For girls!"), but, with a sad smile, she declined. She had her heart set on attending Karasuno, even if it was a thirty-minute bike ride over the mountain every day.  

“You remember our promise, right?” Shouyou continued, adjusting her hold on her little sister.

A sharp nod. “Mmhm!”

“Good morning, Shou-chan!” their mother greeted as Shouyou rounded the corner to the dining room. "Oh, and why are you wearing the boy's uniform?" she asked, inspecting the mostly-black clothing. "And your hair's so short! Did you cut this yourself? You look like a boy!"

“Hi, kaa-san,” Shouyou said, giving her mother a tight, one-armed hug. "I just thought it would be easier to bike to school in pants," she lied, shifting uncomfortably. Natsu peeked up at her, justifiably alarmed. The little girl could probably feel her racing heartbeat through the thin fabric easily. "I have my skirt in my bag so that I can change once I get to school. And, um," she added, "my hair was getting too long for me to deal with, so I cut it."

She tugged nervously at the hem of her blazer, sweating lightly from the shame of lying to her mother. In all actuality, Shouyou didn't even  _own_ Karasuno's skirt. So if her mother wanted to actually see her in the full female regalia she would be severely disappointed, and most likely angry at Shouyou for such a ridiculous idea. She could picture her mother's lecture now:

_"Pretending to be a boy just to play on their volleyball team?"_

_"What would everyone say if they found out?"_

_"Shouyou . . . why did you keep this from me?"_

"Well, next time _tell_ me if you think that your hair's getting long because it looks like you just snipped off random pieces," her mother scolded, looking dissatisfied with her daughter's haphazard layers of rough-looking orange hair. "I don't understand why you keep it so short when it's so  _curly._ It poofs everywhere!"

"Sorry, Mom," Shouyou said sheepishly, propping Natsu on her hip. "You just seemed so busy I didn't want to bother you . . ."

That, and she didn't  _want_ to even look feminine for the next three years.

Her mother's face softened. "Shouyou, I  _always_ have time for you and Natsu. I miss talking to my girls. And about the pants . . . I think that's a good idea," she said approvingly. "It wouldn't do for passerby to see up my daughter's skirt as she went to school."

"R-Right," Shouyou agreed, letting out a nervous chuckle. She set down Natsu down in the chair next to her and got her utensils, their mother soon sitting at the head of the table. Clasping their hands together, the three of them proclaimed, “Ittadakimasu!” before happily digging into their food.

“This was really good, Mom,” Shouyou said gratefully when she finished eating, standing up to put her and Natsu’s plates away. She then gave her mother a proper hug, trying to convey the apology for her deceit without putting it into words. “Oh, and I’ll be home late today because of club sign-ups, so do you mind picking up Natsu after school?”

“Of course not,” her mother said in reply. “And honey, are you sure you don’t want me to bring you and your sister today? I don’t have work, so it wouldn’t interfere with any—”

“No,” Shouyou said firmly. “You deserve to relax today. I’ll make dinner tonight.”

“But—Shou-chan—!”

“Relax, Mom,” Shouyou assured her, kissing her lightly on the cheek. “I’ll be home around five, okay?”

“O-Okay,” she agreed, still looking conflicted. “Watch Natsu and be careful.”

“We will.”

Their mother fussed over their uniforms for a few minutes and snapped a photo or two with the good camera before sending them off.

“I’m proud of you, Shouyou,” her mother said softly once Natsu was safely out of earshot. “I know I’m not the best mother, and I’m not home most of the time—”

“—Mom, no—” she protested.

“—but I love you and your sister very much. I’ll be proud of you no matter what you do, okay?” her mother said with a warm smile. “You’re joining the volleyball team, right?”

Shouyou’s heart nearly stopped as she stammered out a yes. _Crap, did she know? She saw through my lies, I_ knew  _it—_

Her mother’s smile widened as she smoothed down a piece of flyaway, "poofy" hair. “Good. Now you go and show your captain how much work you’ve done to improve this past year. You’ll be better than all those girls.”

A breath left her lips. She smiled weakly. “Y-You know it!” Shouyou said loudly, trying to keep up her bravado. “I’ll—”

 

* * *

 

“—see you soon, Nacchan!” Shouyou said, leaning down and hugging her little sister after walking her in the school’s playground, where the kindergarten teachers were waiting. “Be a good girl, okay?”

“I promise!” Natsu chirped, her small bag slung over her shoulders.

“And remember, kaa-san’s going to be picking you up after school today, and—”

“Nee-chan, I _know,_ ” the little girl scolded lightly. “I’m re- _spon_ -si-ble,” she said, slowly sounding out the word.

“Go make friends!” Shouyou called desperately, watching her sister make a beeline toward the swingset to another group of kids. She watched them interact for a few moments before smiling and turning away.

She had her own friends to make, after all.

Shouyou walked back to where she had left her bike and swung her leg over the seat. Carefully placing her feet on the bicycle pedals, she pushed off forcefully and made her way toward Karasuno. She’d visited the school a number of times—once for a shadowing trip (as her true gender, then), and yesterday, for the first-years’ orientation (as the male persona she would have for the rest of her high school career).

So Shouyou was confident that she knew the way to her new school. She had only made a few wrong turns, but after talking to the gruff-looking man working the counter at the aptly-named Sakanoshita Store, she was pedaling up the hill, only slightly out of breath.

Once she arrived, she chained her bike and nervously joined the stream of students walking toward the front doors. Was she holding herself too awkwardly? Was her hair adequately messy? And—oh, god—did she look _male_ enough to be in the boys’ uniform?

Her stomach began to churn again. Oh, goodness. She stopped in the middle of the yard and clutched the straps of her bag, a sheen of sweat making her feel uncomfortably warm in the black blazer.

A hand suddenly landed on Shouyou’s shoulder, making her flinch violently. “Are you all right?” a concerned, quiet voice asked her.

Her eyes widened as she looked up to stare at the girl who had addressed her. “Y-Yes,” Shouyou stammered, blushing horribly because she had already managed to make a fool of herself in front of someone who was probably her senpai. “Thank you.”

“Are you a first-year?” the girl questioned, leading Shouyou inside. “I can escort you to your homeroom if you need me to.”

“Yes,” Shouyou shamefully repeated. “Um, I’m Hinata Shouyou, first-year,” she offered, staring at her worn red and white sneakers.

“Shimizu Kiyoko, third-year.”

Shouyou immediately bowed, her mind racing. _Oh my goodness, a_ third-year, she thought anxiously. “Thank you for helping me, Shimizu-senpai.”

“It’s not a problem, Hinata-kun,” Shimizu said as they walked to the lockers. “Shall I wait here while you change your shoes?”

“T-Thank you,” Shouyou squeaked again, almost tripping over herself in order to get to the first-year cubbies. Her fingers fumbled ungracefully as she tugged open the locker with the characters for _Hinata Shouyou_ open, but as she slipped the new-feeling brown leather shoes on her feet, realization dawned on her.

Shimizu-senpai thought that she was a _boy._ This might actually _work._

“Uh, sorry to keep you waiting, Shimizu-senpai,” Shouyou said a little more confidently, spotting the dark-haired girl patiently waiting.

She smiled slightly, shaking her head. “No, it’s my job as a senpai to help my kouhai, isn’t it? Now, what class are you in?”

“. . . Um, Class 1-A,” Shouyou admitted, flushing. She wasn’t the _smartest,_ but she tried harder than everyone. Scoring well on tests was just difficult for her. “So uh, are you part of any clubs, Shimizu-senpai?” she then asked, trying the change the subject.

“I’m the manager of the boys’ volleyball team,” Shimizu said easily, her expression becoming fond.

Shouyou’s face brightened. “Really?” she asked excitedly. “I was planning on joining the volleyball team! Can you tell me what it’s like? How are the members? I bet they’re amazing.” She paused in her walking as another thought bubbled from her lips. “ _Ooh,_ who’s the ace?”

A small laugh came from the other girl. “Well, you’ll just have to see after school, Hinata-kun,” she said, pointing to the _1-A_ sign above the door they had stopped in front of.

“Thank you so much, Shimizu-senpai!” Shouyou said loudly, bowing again. A large grin was plastered on her face from excitement as she waved goodbye to the kind third-year.

School could _not_ end fast enough, she thought as she entered the classroom. A good number of students were there already—some had already broken off into groups of their own, others were quietly sitting at their desks, and Shouyou didn’t know what to do. But the arrival of their homeroom teacher saved her from having to force herself to socialize, and she thanked the high heavens for giving her such a good start to her day.

Shouyou quickly claimed a spot in the back, next to the window. A tall, dark-haired boy sat in front of her, but she didn’t pay him any mind.

Class introductions were next, and she quickly began to space out, daydreaming about what she would do once she joined the volleyball club. But with the call of “Hinata Shouyou-kun?” she stood up, startled, and gave the awkwardest introduction yet.

“Hello, I’m Hinata Shouyou from Yukigaoka Junior High and I’m small, but I can jump high!” she chirped nervously, saying the first thing that popped into her head. “And I, um, love to play volleyball.” She then sat down, her face burning with embarrassment. At least, she reminded herself, now her whole homeroom believed she was a boy. Her given name was commonly for males, too, so that was an added bonus.

However, Shouyou missed the rest of her peers’ introductions due to her internal mourning for her future reputation, but fell into line with her classmates in order to go to the auditorium for the welcoming ceremony.

In the beginning, the first-years were welcomed with a warm applause from the staff and the second- and third-years within the principal’s speech, but then the microphone was turned over to each of the clubs who urged everyone to join them.

Shouyou didn’t really listen to any of them except for the volleyball clubs (girls’ and boys’), in which her heart began to pound with anticipation. Seeing the strong, charismatic, and handsome captain of the boys’ team, Shouyou knew that the team was strong as well. A team couldn’t function without a sturdy backbone.

After school let out for the day and the frenzy for club sign-ups began, Shouyou caught a glimpse of Shimizu-senpai, who kindly directed her to the location of the gym and said that she would be by soon. She swiftly changed out of her uniform and into the school’s P.E. uniform and her worn sneakers, and ran as fast as she could toward the gym.

Oh, she was so excited. She was finally going to be on a team, and it was going to be _fantastic._ She was going to play on the same team that the Little Giant had played on, and they were going to go to Nationals, and she was finally going to defeat _him_ . . . !

Shouyou leapt and landed lightly on the gym floor, a broad smile on her face. The sharp bouncing of a volleyball caught her attention, though, and she froze in horror when her eyes locked with widened blue.

No . . . it couldn’t be.

_Kageyama . . . Tobio?_

 

> _Memories of hot tears after a crushing defeat._
> 
> _A promise to get revenge on Kitagawa Daiichi's #2._

 

“Why are _you_ here?” Shouyou blurted out, pointing accusingly at him as he began his approach to the service line.

Kageyama Tobio, the tall, stoic vice-captain of Kitagawa's boys’ volleyball team. The team who had so ruthlessly destroyed hers in the first round of the co-ed junior high school tournament.

And also, someone who had _seen_ her before. She had never wanted to curse her lack of brain-to-mouth filter so much.

“You’re that girl . . .” Kageyama said slowly, his eyes focusing in recognition after he stumbled because of Shouyou’s shout.

Her heart began to race in fear. No. Her plan couldn’t be ruined already.

Not when she was so close.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha, so i just wanted see what would happen if i did this. i'm not the greatest writer around, but i hope that writing about one of my most relatable fandoms (i'm a volleyball girl, too, after all) will help me improve.
> 
> and a note: **updates will most likely be highly irregular until life has gotten into some semblance of order.**
> 
> until then? please be patient with me. :)
> 
> kudos and comments would be most appreciated, and i shall see you soon, dear readers.
> 
> i do hope you've enjoyed!


	2. The Meaning of "Friend"

First, Shouyou took a deep breath to calm her heart. It wouldn’t do to blow her cover right away. _You prepared for this,_ she reminded herself. _Think of Natsu._ She had acted the role of “confused teenage male” in front of her sister a couple (hundred) times until it was deemed believable, but oh boy, it was a lot scarier to do this in real life.  

“You’re that girl, right?” Kageyama repeated, looking a little unsure.

“I’m sorry?” Shouyou said after a small beat, offering Kageyama a well-practiced smile. “Last time I checked, I’m a _guy._ Did the ball hit you too hard?” she teased.

At her words, Kageyama immediately flushed and dropped down to the ground to pick up the fallen volleyball, mumbling something under his breath. Shouyou had to smother a grin and the urge to fling her arms into the air and scream. Maybe the last statement took it too far, but who cared? Kageyama _believed_ her.

 _I’m definitely bringing Natsu something special tonight,_ she promised herself before stepping forward and “introducing” herself to Kageyama.

“My name’s Hinata Shouyou,” she said. Though she was bitter about having her self-proclaimed rival on her team, she resigned herself to at least try to make friends with the guy.

“Kageyama Tobio,” he muttered back, his stare a little too intense for her.

“What?” Shouyou demanded after a few seconds of his glaring, feeling heat prickling her cheeks. It was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable, and she began to fidget in place a little. Shouyou was easily anxious, and being scrutinized like that didn’t help matters.

He opened his mouth to say something, but then seemed to hesitate. “You’re really short,” he said instead, the blunt words piercing Shouyou’s easily wounded heart.

“You’re just unnecessarily tall!” she shot back. “Your tallness is really insulting to vertically challenged people like myself—couldn’t you just like, _give_ me some of that height? It would be really useful in a game, or reaching that last meat bun on the top of the shelf at the grocery store, or—”

Damn it, she was babbling again.

“Or—!” Shouyou paused and breathed in deeply to calm herself. Now that she made a complete _fool_ of herself in front of Kageyama, she should just stop talking. Now.

“You’re short _and_ annoying,” Kageyama decided once Shouyou stopped talking, giving her a weird look. “You know what, you’re probably not even going to be a starting player, so you should just leave now. I won’t play with people who aren’t worth my time,” he said, slamming the volleyball down a few times before walking behind the service line.

“ _I will not.”_

Shouyou raised a hand to her mouth, surprised. _I just said that aloud, didn’t I . . ._

But before either of them could say anything else, low voices filtered through the open doors. And then three (also unnecessarily tall) males walked in, looking like they had practiced looking that impressive. Shouyou recognized all three of them, of course; the captain was the one in the middle, flanked by the vice-captain and the scary guy. They had introduced the boys’ volleyball club during the opening ceremony, right after the girls’ . . .

“Hello,” Kageyama said politely, making Shouyou gape in shock. So the rudest guy on the planet could be nice sometimes too. Wonders would never cease.

“Ah, so we _did_ get Kitagawa’s first setter,” the silver-haired vice-captain said, looking impressed. “Kageyama Tobio.”

The scary-looking guy then glared at Shouyou, who found herself _eep_ ing and hiding behind Kageyama. “Oi, oi, oi . . .” he snarled, “who’re you?”

“Stop that, Tanaka,” the captain chided. “We have to make our new applicants feel welcome. It’s nice to have the both of you here,” he addressed the two first-years, crossing his arms.

“Thank you,” Shouyou said a little shyly.

“You’re quite tall,” the silver-haired boy noted, looking at Kageyama.

“We have to make him feel intimidated, Suga-san,” Tanaka—the scary one—insisted, proceeding to make an even stronger death glare. “Make him respect us third-years.”

“You’re a second-year, Tanaka,” Suga deadpanned.

“So what? I’m still their senpai!”

 _Everyone’s so_ tall _. . ._ Shouyou then realized, gulping. How was she going to survive here? She tuned out the conversation, but Tanaka’s eyes suddenly bugged out and he pointed at her.

“Oh! You!” he shouted in recognition. Shouyou flinched. “It’s you! I knew I recognized you, Shrimpy #1!”

The other upperclassmen, Suga-san and the captain, seemed to recognize her too.

“We saw your game against Kageyama last year,” Suga-san explained, mistaking her panic for confusion. “It was a very good match,” he said, smiling kindly.

 _Saw . . . the game?_ Oh, no.

“Suga-san, you’re being too nice,” Tanaka scoffed. “She was short and sucked really bad . . . though she did have a lot of guts.”

“Your jumps _were_ very impressive,” Suga added. “A lot higher than some of the boys, I think.”

“So the other applicant here, Hinata, is . . . you?” the captain asked. He then became a little apologetic. “I’m sorry, but this is the boys’ club, not the girls’. You can ask Michimiya Yui for an application—”

“N-No!” Shouyou blurted, breaking out of her stupor. “I’m _not_ a girl! You’re talking about my cousin,” she said quickly, trying to remember the story that she and Natsu had come up with. “She and I look alike, but she went to America to play volleyball, and I stayed here. I was sick the day of the tournament, so . . .” She shrugged.

“Your cousin?” the captain ( _Sawamura_ _Daichi,_ she then remembered) questioned. At Shouyou’s nod, he became thoughtful. “I see. Then I’m sorry for mistaking her for you. You _do_ look very similar.”

“I-I get that a lot,” she agreed. _It worked it worked it worked it worked it_ **_worked._ **

They then asked her what position she played (“Libero?” Suga-san asked, not unkindly), but she shook her head and replied that she was a wing spiker and that she wanted to be the ace because the Little Giant was Karasuno’s ace and he was her hero, after all.

“We both look up to him because we can jump really high!” Shouyou beamed, a little carried away because of her enthusiasm.

“So you’re related to her?” Kageyama suddenly said. “Has she gotten any better?”

“Um, I’d like to think so,” Shouyou said carefully. “We’re at about the same skill level because we’ve played together our entire lives.”

“Show me.”

She blinked. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” Kageyama said. “I just want to know if her cousin is as wasteful of her talent as she was.”

Ignoring the fluttery feeling in her chest at receiving a compliment (no matter how twisted the compliment actually _was_ ), the anger forced itself out first. “I worked my _ass_ off for three years to get here,” she spat. “I don’t want to hear _anything_ from you!”

“Now guys, calm down,” Daichi said pleasantly, clapping a hand on each of their shoulders. His iron grip contrasted harshly with his tone and expression. “I would hope that our new applicants aren’t starting trouble on the very first day of practice . . . that wouldn’t be a good start.”

Shouyou’s anger immediately dissipated. “. . . No, captain.”

Daichi’s gaze traveled over to Kageyama. “No, captain,” he sighed, echoing her.

He released their shoulders. “Good!” he said cheerfully, the petrifying “captain-glare” going as quickly as it came. “We’ll be having a three-on-three this Saturday in order to see what our new first years are made of, okay? Since you’re not officially part of the club yet, we can’t have you in the gym with us until after this weekend. Sound good?”

“Yes!” Shouyou replied, hearing a similar response from Kageyama.

“Volleyball is a team sport,” Daichi continued, his strong arms crossed. “If we are to be a strong team, our links need to be strong as well.” Giving the two of them significant looks, he said, “So our team is only as strong as the weakest link, which is you two.

“Because you have to learn how to cooperate with each other, the two of you will be on the same team on Saturday with Tanaka,” he said in the same mien. “If you don't win and prove that you can work together, Kageyama will never play as setter.”

It took a while for that information to sink in, but Shouyou stood there silently, trying to gauge Kageyama's reaction. He'd most definitely be upset at this command.

“ _What_?” Kageyama said in disbelief. "Why? You can't take away my position!"

“We have no room for a selfish setter,” Daichi said sternly. “If you don’t learn how to play with your teammates, then you’ll have to suffer the consequences. Now . . . _dismissed!_ ”

Shouyou and Kageyama suddenly found themselves outside the doors of the gym.

“What just happened?” Shouyou said aloud, feeling stunned.

Kageyama turned to her. “You. How are your volleyball skills?” he demanded. “How’s your serving? Receives? Your hitting better not suck, based on the way you’ve talked about it. The setter's position can't be taken away from me, so we've got to make you better so we don't lose this weekend.”

“I’m _plenty_ good at spiking!” Shouyou argued. “But . . . my receiving might need a bit of work,” she admitted petulantly, crossing her arms.

“We’re going to work on your receives, then,” Kageyama decided, grabbing the scruff of her shirt and dragging her away from the gym, a volleyball mysteriously already tucked under his other arm.

“Hey!” Shouyou squawked, choking. “Ow—Kageyama, let go!”

“No,” he said, dumping her on the field by the baseball diamond. “We have to work on your receives. Now get into position.”

“Whatever you say,” Shouyou hummed, internally laughing at the comment that Kageyama probably didn’t even realize was suggestive. She squatted slightly, her arms out in front of her. “I’m ready.”

Kageyama immediately hit the ball at her. It ricocheted off of her forearms and into her face.

She wasn’t normally _this_ bad . . . receiving the hits from Kouji and Izumi were much easier than this.

And then she missed again. And again. And again. And _again-again-again_ -again.

“You suck,” Kageyama said bluntly after Shouyou’s tenth missed receive. “We’re doomed.”

“Can’t we take a break from receives and try tossing?” she whined. “You like setting, right? Set to me!”

“I refuse to set to anyone who I don’t deem worthy,” he said curtly. “Now make a proper stance, dammit! What are you, a pigeon-toed chicken?”

Slightly confused by the “insult” (how could she be both a chicken _and_ a pigeon?), Shouyou sighed and crouched down, ready to receive. Her nose was smarting from the number of well-spiked balls to the face, and honestly there was a slight possibility that she had a concussion.

Kageyama slammed the ball down, and Shouyou instinctively _moved._ It hit her forearms perfectly, creating a beautiful arc right to Kageyama . . . who promptly smacked it back to her. This time, the ball hit her face . . . again.

“Was that last pass a fluke or something?” he mused, looking at Shouyou’s fallen figure disdainfully.

“Sh-Shut up,” Shouyou muttered, getting back to her feet and tossing the ball back. “One more.”

Was it just her, or did Kageyama actually look _impressed?_ Or maybe he was thinking how pathetic she was compared to him, but she had to admit it was kind of nice for him to offer to practice with her even though he was doing it to save his position on the team.

“It’s getting dark,” Shouyou panted after the fiftieth—sixtieth?—receive. They had gradually gotten more consistent as the hours went on, but she was wondering how her mother and sister were doing without her. And oh man—she had promised to make dinner tonight. What time was it?

“So what?” Kageyama said, smacking the ball back down. “There’s still a bit of light out. We can practice.”

“I have to make dinner tonight,” Shouyou explained, her breathing staggered as she dove for it. She missed, adding to the grass stains all over her clothes. She probably looked like a reverse Christmas tree—maroon clothes, green splotches. She continued lying there, feeling disgustingly sticky as her sweat soaked into her shirt. “It . . . takes me a really . . . long time to get home, too.”

Kageyama stared at her for a moment before huffing and looking away. “Fine. But we’ll get here early tomorrow in order to continue practicing. 5:00 sound good?”

Slowly sitting up, Shouyou grinned wearily. “Fine by me. I’ll see you tomorrow, Kageyama.”

As she walked away, she could've sworn she heard a "See you" back.

 

* * *

 

“I’m home,” Shouyou called out tiredly when she got home, pulling off her shoes in the genkan.

“Welcome back, nee-chan!” Natsu chirped, bounding up to her and engulfing her in a large hug. “Did you have fun today?” she asked, looking up with shining eyes. “Because I did, and I made a friend called Kazu-chan—he really likes basketball and we played together with this other boy named Shin-chan who has _green hair,_ can you believe it? And Sensei is _so so so_ nice, and he has a friend who plays basketball in America—”

Leave it to a five-year-old to talk that long without breathing. “Whoa, whoa, calm down, Nacchan,” Shouyou laughed, hanging her jacket up in the closet. “So you had a fun first day?”

“Yup!” Natsu said cheerily. “I even helped Mama with dinner!”

“Dinner?” Shouyou repeated, her heart sinking into her stomach. “Mom?” she called, running into the house. The table was already set so that they could eat, and her mother was bringing in the food from the kitchen.

“Welcome back, Shou-chan,” her mother said, smiling. “Sit down, I know you’re exhausted.”

“I said I’d make dinner tonight,” Shouyou protested, trying to prevent her mother from doing anything else. “Practice just ran a little late, is all—”

“Sweetie, you _always_ make dinner,” her mother reprimanded, fixing her daughter with a stern look. “Let me be a mother for once, okay?”

When she met her mother’s eyes she knew that she couldn’t fight her on this. “. . . All right,” she relented, sitting down.

And the rest of the evening went by uneventfully. She finished her homework, played with Natsu, showered, and got ready for bed.

But an unexpected text brought a smile to her lips.

**To: Hinata Shouyou**

**From: Izumi Yukitaka**

_Shou-chan, I hope you had a great day at school! How was the volleyball team?_

**To: Izumi Yukitaka**

**From: Hinata Shouyou**

_it was great! theres a really annoying person on my team—_

Shouyou quickly pressed _backspace_ on her phone.

_it was great!_

_oh, and do u remember kageyama tobio?_

The response was immediate.

**To: Hinata Shouyou**

**From: Izumi Yukitaka**

_WHAT? Are you kidding me??? That crazy setter from Kitagawa?_

_Don’t tell me he goes to Karasuno!_

**To: Izumi Yukitaka**

**From: Hinata Shouyou**

_well . . ._

_he kinda does, izumin_

**To: Hinata Shouyou**

**From: Izumi Yukitaka**

_Man, that sucks_

_Well, at least you’re not on the same team . . ._

**To: Izumi Yukitaka**

**From: Hinata Shouyou**

_haha yeah. i think id die xD_

_oh and how’s kouji?_

They continued to talk for a while, Izumin teasing Shouyou about her lack of proper Japanese, and Shouyou lying about her actual volleyball team.

Izumi was still stuck on the fact that Kageyama was in her school ( _and in my class,_ Shouyou typed).

 _Well, just be careful, Shou-chan,_ Izumin cautioned. _But I’ll see you this weekend so that we can all hang out again!_

 _definitely!_ Shouyou typed happily. _but ive got something saturday morning, so maybe after that? we can all sleep over at my place again!_

She then placed her phone on her bedside table and flopped down on her bed with a huge sigh. Her phone vibrated, indicating a new message, but Shouyou ignored it in favor of snuggling deeply under her blanket. Saturday was coming up fast, and Kageyama was counting on her and Tanaka.

She just needed to practice harder for the rest of the week.

 

* * *

 

“But I kinda understand why you wanna be setter so bad,” Shouyou said quietly, as she picked herself off the ground after another missed pass. “I’ve never actually played a real volleyball game until—um, I mean, I’ve never played a real game before. My cousin told me that it was an _amazing_ experience, and how awesome everyone was. Sure, the spikers are flashier and cooler, but the setter is the support of the team, right? They tear down the walls of the blocks for their teammates. It’s actually pretty great.”

She stopped speaking once she realized Kageyama had been silent the whole time. “Ah, sorry!” she said with an anxious laugh, dropping back into position. “I was just thinking aloud, you see—I talk a lot when I’m nervous.” She glanced up at him. “Let’s win Saturday, okay?”

“Of course we will,” he said gruffly, slamming the ball back down to her. Shouyou received it without a second thought.

“You’re getting a lot better, Hinata!” Suga called, supervising his kouhai with Tanaka by his side. “I’m sure you’ll do great by the time Saturday comes.”

Shouyou flashed him a smile. “Thanks, Sugawara-san!” she chirped.

Tanaka and Suga had actually shown up a little later than the two of them, apparently having overheard their plan to come to school early to work on Shouyou’s receives. Tanaka had gotten the keys from Daichi last night, and led the two inside the gym so that they could actually get some decent practice in each day before the rest of the team came in for morning practice at 7:00.

“Just thank your senpai,” Tanaka had laughed impressively, jabbing a thumb to his chest.

But once 6:30 rolled around, Shouyou and Kageyama ran to the locker rooms to change into their school uniforms (Shouyou going into a stall, of course, and feeling awkward because there was only a single, thin door with a flimsy lock standing between her and a teenage boy who was most likely naked) while Suga and Tanaka worked to return the gym to how it had been the night before.

Shouyou found herself really liking the time spent with her soon-to-be teammates (even though Kageyama was still as rude as ever), and was looking forward to officially joining Karasuno’s boys’ volleyball team. It would be her first _real_ team, which she had admitted to Suga during the first of their many lunchtime practices.

Suga offered to toss to her because he was Karasuno’s official setter, but Shouyou declined, saying that it would feel like she had lost to Kageyama. “I want to get along with him someday,” she told Suga, “but I think that it’ll only happen through volleyball. Guys like him are focused on one thing and one thing only, and that’s winning. I want him to acknowledge my skills as a player, so I want him to be the first one to toss to me. Is that okay, Sugawara-san?”

Suga laughed. “No, I understand where you’re coming from. You both have your pride. And call me Suga. It’s much easier to say.”

Shouyou smiled. “Okay—Suga-san!”

The rest of the day went by as normally as a school day would go. She saw Shimizu-senpai in the halls once and waved, earning a small wave back, and met a blond girl named Yachi Hitoka as she went to go get her stuff from her locker.

Yachi was a little timid, but quickly warmed up to Shouyou. After insisting that Yachi call Shouyou by her given name, “Yachi-san” soon became “Hitoka-chan.” They nicknamed themselves the “Shorty Squad,” due to their small statures, and Shouyou was thrilled to make her first female friend outside of volleyball. Hitoka was insanely smart too, even if her confidence in herself was a little shaky, so her help with schoolwork was always really helpful.

And then the end of the day was more practicing with Kageyama. Two guys showed up in the middle of it—Tsukishima Kei and Yamaguchi Tadashi—and said that they were the ones who Shouyou and Kageyama were going to face that Saturday.

Tsukishima was a bit of a jerk, calling Kageyama “King” no matter how many times he was told to stop it, and Shouyou never wanted to beat anyone as badly as him. Well, maybe except for when she thought she was going to see Kageyama on the other side of the net, but still! Tsukishima jeered at him, reminding Kageyama of his less happy junior high days, when he couldn’t rely on his teammates.

She realized that she and Kageyama were kind of alike in that sense. She, the girl with no team, and he, the boy who was still searching for one.

The rest of the week passed in the same manner—get to school early even though her tired muscles protested the 30-minute bike ride made longer by her exhaustion; practice with Kageyama and the others; try not to fall asleep in school; talk with Hitoka; and evening practice with Kageyama again before heading back home.

“Shouyou-kun, your practice game with Tsukishima-san and Yamaguchi-san is tomorrow, isn’t it?” Hitoka asked.

Shouyou nodded. They had a study hall at the moment, which gave them a chance to have a nice, long talk. “I’ve been practicing all week for this,” she said brightly. “I want to win—not just for Kageyama, but for myself, too. I wanna prove that I’m worthy enough to stand on the court with such amazing players.”

“That’s amazing,” Hitoka said simply. “You’ll do great tomorrow. I know it.”

Shouyou beamed. “Thanks so much, Hitoka-chan!”

That night, after a quick dinner and a nice, luxurious bath (nope, Shouyou wasn’t going to stand in the shower after working so hard the past week), she snuggled under the blanket, feeling warm and sleepy.

Then a knock on her door made her sit up. “Come in,” Shouyou called. A soft smile formed on her face when she saw who her visitor was.

“Nee-chan, can I sleep with you tonight?” Natsu asked, rubbing her eyes tiredly. A stuffed animal was tucked under her arm.

Shouyou scooched over and patted the place next to the wall. “Get in here.”

Natsu’s tiny, warm body was soon curled up to her chest, her breaths deep and even as she closed her eyes.

“Good luck tomorrow,” Natsu yawned, snuggling closer. “You’ll do amazing.”

“Aww thanks,” Shouyou giggled, smoothing down the fluffy orange locks. “Time for beddy-bye?” she asked, poking Natsu’s nose playfully.

She opened a sleepy eye. “Beddy-bye,” the little girl agreed, closing it again. “Night, nee-chan.”

“Night, Natsu.”

Now all Shouyou could do was drift off to sleep, and do the very best that she could tomorrow. 

Because tomorrow would be the deciding factor for the rest of the year.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh wow, it's been a _while_ since my last update. i'm so sorry, i've been trying to figure out what to write for the next chapter without totally taking everything from the anime.
> 
> so i was rewatching the first few episodes of _haikyuu!!_ for reference and i was a little surprised at how abrasive hinata and kageyama used to be to each other (mostly kageyama, but y'know) before all that character development that we all know and love.
> 
> so in this AU they're a lot ~~sweeter~~ nicer to each other, probably because hinata is more level-headed and more game-smart than her male counterpart, which means kageyama probably isn't that ticked off at her for being so ignorant lol.
> 
> (but hi filler chapter, how are you today? maybe there will be plot in chapter three, who knows?)
> 
> anyway, i do hope you've enjoyed and please be patient with me until the next update! :)


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